Monday, August 26, 2013

Recently ASCD released 4 short books that are aimed at packing a big punch in a small package. Each are less that 100 pages but have loads of quality information. Over the next few posts we will look at each one to see what they are all about. Then we will give away 1 copy of each. Sound like fun? Whenever I hear the word Grit I think of the John Wayne movie True Grit. I see John Wayne's character helping the young lady find the person who took her father. And nothing was going to stop him from achieving his goal. Thomas Hoerr takes this same point of view in his ASCD Arias book, Fostering Grit. As he points out learning is more than our core subjects that students need to succeed. Learning means developing Grit. This is the tenacity, perseverance, and willingness to take risks and learn from failure.

In this Arias, Hoerr lays out the 6 steps needed to teach students to have grit:

Establish The Environment
Set Expectations
Teach The Vocabulary
Create The Frustration
Monitor The Experience
Reflect And Learn

Accompanying each of these steps are real-classroom examples of how to achieve this. For example in "Create The Frustration" Hoerr points out that when completing tasks it is easy for frustration to take over when we fear failure or don't have the correct knowledge set to complete the task. Hoerr offers suggestions to ease students into the frustration like focusing all effort for 5 minutes. At the end of 5 mins if success is had, keep going. If it isn't, step back and reflect on what different effort is needed.

Also included is a ready-to-go lesson plan that can be modified to be used in most every grade level to help students understand grit and how to use grit to their advantage.

I absolutely love the Arias because of their short yet fully covered subject matter. Fostering Grit does not disappoint. At 38 pages its a quick read but the takeaways are immediate and impactful. And while Hoerr focuses on fostering grit in students there is something here that could be used by teachers and administrators as well. It is definitely a multipurpose book.

You can check out Fostering Grithere. At $7 for the eBook I think the cost is well worth the learning. Definitely check it out!

1) Do you have guts? This guy is my hero. He felt something inside his soul. The music made him want to move. He didn't care what others would think. He got up and started moving. Kinda like in schools sometimes. Being the first person to stand up and dance is risky but often times it starts a movement. We have to have guts to be a leader. Leading is tough and standing up for what is right (which often isn't what everyone believes in) takes guts.

2) Are you easy to follow? The leadership Dancing Guy provides is instructional almost, as the video points out. So from the very beginning people watching know it is going to be easy to mimic. Kinda like schools sometimes. Leaders need to lead in a way that is easy for others to follow. Nothing complex. And being followed shouldn't be a difficult task. Just simple leadership to drive change.

3) Do You Lead Publicly? When the first follower decides to embrace the leadership, Dancing Guy doesn't just keep doing. He shows the follower how to do the dance. He embraces the follower and wants him to feel as good as he does. Kinda like schools sometimes. When we want people to follow, we not only need to be easy to follow but we need to do it in a way that is easy for others to embrace. Sometimes that means showing them. Modeling good leadership is an important skill to master. Like the video says, "he embraces the follower as an equal. So it's not about the leader any more." Leading publically means more than just in the classroom or in the building. Leading means connecting with other leaders to discuss and debate. We have to look beyond our walls and seek out those connections.

4) Is Your Movement Public? Once that first follower follows and they both are embracing the dance others begin to join in. Their (notice is plural now) leadership is public and then becomes a movement. And that movement is public for all to see. Kinda like schools sometimes. If the leadership wants to gain momentum and followers we have to make our movements public. Using social media tools can help. Showing what you are doing on your school Facebook page or Twitter account, posting videos to You Tube about the movement, talking to others. The more open your movement, the easier it is for more followers to join in. Like the video says, " Everyone needs to see the followers because followers emulate followers, not the leader."

5) Momentum...So once we get 2 then 3 then more followers the momentum takes over and the movement is in full force. More and more people join in and then the tipping point. This is the time at which people feel compelled to join in because there are more followers now than watchers. Kinda like schools sometimes. Once the movement gains steam and more and more followers join there comes a point at which people feel they have to join. They don't want to be "that guy" looking from the sidelines while the movement passes them by. So if we include the ideas from above, if our movement is public and we are modeling what we want and we foster leadership in others than it is that much easier to lead. It actually takes care of itself doesn't it?

So as we begin the school year, take some time and examine your leadership and the ultimate question to ask yourself, are you a lone nut?

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Over the past 6 weeks I've highlighted a few of my favorite tools, tips, tricks and resources. We covered a lot. Here is a recap of all 10 posts:

1) Collaborative Learning With Edmodo- Here we took a look at what Edmodo is and how you can use it to create a collaborative online space in your classroom. There are some resources there to get you started. Oh and just last week was Edmodocon, a one-day conference where teachers from all over shared how they are using Edmodo. So bonus! More resources.

2) Learning With Hashtags- One of my favorite topics to talk about is hashtags on Twitter. The hashtag is so powerful and you don't even have to have a Twitter account to unleash their power. In this post we take a look at just how to use hashtags to their full potential.

3) TED Talks For Learning- Most everyone has seen a TED video. (If you haven't, then this is the post for you!) These are my favorite TED Talks to start conversation or to get folks thinking about a wide variety of topics like mathematics, computer science, leadership and more.

4) All About Twitter Chats-As a follow-up to the post on Hashtags I discuss on of the most popular Twitter chats, #edchat. More generally give some tips on participating in a Twitter chat and give some of my favorite chats to lurk in on.

5) Doing More With YouTube-There is more to YouTube than just videos. Here we look at some great tools to quiet the distractions, edit videos, or use videos to collaborate.

6) Curating With Diigo-Information literacy is more than understanding where our resources come from. It's also about organizing that information so others can use it too. Curation is an important part of learning. To make that job easier we take a look at Diigo and all the great features there for educators.

7) Starting A Classroom or School Twitter Account- In keeping with the Twitter theme I offer up some things to consider if you want to use Twitter in the classroom or in your school. There might just be some things you haven't thought about. Oh and if you want some ideas on how others are using Twitter in the classroom, you can find that here too.

8) Giving Evernote A Try-Their motto is true to life. "Remember Everything." That is exactly what Evernote does. Here we look at what Evernote is, how I am using it and how you can do more with it.

9) Putting The Internet To Work For You With IFTTT-You can spend a lot of time make sure files are backed up, pictures synced or tons of other things. If This, Then That, can automate a lot of things that happen on the Internet for you. Comes in handy if you have multiple devices in many locations that all need the same information on them.

10) Keeping In Touch With Remind101-Many are turning to texting to keep in touch. That can be great but Remind101 makes it easy and safe. No exchange of numbers and lot of great features.

So there they are. The 10 Summer Learning Series posts. But don't let the title fool you. While these are great tools, tips and tricks to learn during the summer, you could spend some time with them during the school year too. Spend 1 week on each of them and you've got almost 3 months of learning you, your colleagues and your friends could undertake.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

This is the tenth and final post in my Summer Learning Series. These are short posts with tools, tips and resources for you to try something new this summer or something you can take to the classroom in the Fall. First was Collaborative Learning With Edmodo and then we followed up with Learning With Hashtags. Then we looked at TED Talks. We moved on to Twitter chats. Then we looked at some pretty neat things you can do with YouTube. Then we took a look at Diigo and how to curate the information you are finding this summer. Then we examined the things to consider if you want to use Twitter in your classroom or your school in the coming school year. Last week we examined a tool I can't live without, Evernote. Then we saw how we can automate the internet and take many of the tools in the Summer Learning Series to the next level with If This, Then That. Now we wrap up with a great way to keep your classroom in touch and on top of things with Remind101.

When I was teaching in the classroom I always had some trouble keeping in touch. It wasn't for a lack of effort. Whenever we had a project, homework, assessment or we needed something special for an experiment we were doing I would send home papers, put things on my website and make lists on the board in my classroom.

But let's face it.

The papers probably never made it home.

Hardly anyone was checking my website.

And there was always that prankster that erased the lists on the board.

If I was teaching today, there are loads of options now to bridge those communication gaps. Twitter and Facebook are 2 popular ways. But for some in our communities, they may not be connected that way.

Texting could work. So why don't you start your first day of school and put up your personal cell phone number on the board. Oh and they why don't you get the personal cell phone number of all your students.

What? That won't work?

Sure. In many places there are policies and rules that prevent that kind of information exchange. Hence the reason for, hands down, one of my favorite tools out there.

In it's simplest form you create a free Remind101 account. You then are give a code and a number that your kids (and parents) use to sign up their cell phone number. Once registered, you can send those reminders, homeworks, and everything else via text message and you never see the phone numbers of the members of your groups and they don't see yours.

Pretty easy right?

There is so much you can do. Send reminders right away or schedule them for later. Even messages you already sent can be sent again just to make sure everyone has it.

They have apps for iOS and Android so parents and students never have to visit the Remind101 website to join your class and it makes it easy to keep track of all the messages.

Messages are one-way (Teacher to class) and no individual messages can be sent. So it makes it safe to use.

All messages are archived so if your district is like mine and you have to keep record of what you send you have it.

And one of the coolest features is the widget you can embed on your website. You may have some who don't want to opt-in to using their cellphone, they can still get all the info via the widget.

Definitely explore their website and blog for loads of great information. Their Youtube channel is especially helpful with lots of how-to videos.

Do you have open house coming up? Go ahead and set up your class and have the information ready for students and parents to join. You can get a jump start on communicating even before the school year starts. Then you can stay in touch all year long, easily and simply, with Remind101.

Monday, August 5, 2013

This is the ninth post in my Summer Learning Series. These are short posts with tools, tips and resources for you to try something new this summer or something you can take to the classroom in the Fall. First was Collaborative Learning With Edmodo and then we followed up with Learning With Hashtags. Then we looked at TED Talks. We moved on to Twitter chats. Then our last post looked at some pretty neat things you can do with YouTube. Then we took a look at Diigo and how to curate the information you are finding this summer. Then we examined the things to consider if you want to use Twitter in your classroom or your school in the coming school year. In the last post we examined a tool I can't live without, Evernote. Now let see how we can automate the internet and take many of the tools in the Summer Learning Series to the next level with If This, Then That.

Let's face it. The easier and more automated I can make certain things I do, the better off I am. While I haven't perfected my "Get Out Of Bed, Dress Me, Make Me Bacon" machine...yet, I have found a site that puts the power of the Internet to work for me.

If This, Than That (or IFTTT) is a powerful website where you set up triggers and recipes to do tasks for you. You connect IFTTT to your favorite web tools like Twitter, Facebook, Pocket, Foursquare, etc and set up statements that if this happens, than that should happen.

It starts with the If This:

Here, you decide if something happens. Maybe you check in on Foursquare, take a picture with Instagram, an RSS feee is updated, you get an email, the list goes on and on and on.

I am going to create one for the weather. There are all sorts of triggers for every tool. For the weather it is things like sunrise, if it is going to rain, if the temperature is rising or falling, etc. For this example I picked when the current condition changes to rain.

Then you decide what should happen:

Now you have several options, some of which make sense, like triggering an email or sending a text, while others don't make much sense like updating your Facebook status or sending an update via RSS. You can make some interesting combinations.

Once set up, you are good to go. You sit back and wait for the triggers to fire and see what happens.

I have several recipes I use. One takes my favorites from Twitter and sends them to a notebook in Evernote. Another copies the pictures I take on Instagram and Facebook and sends them to folders in Dropbox. A favorite is a daily email of all the free books available from Amazon on the Kindle. There literally 1000's of combinations.

I use a bunch of these. The weather trigger is one of my favorites. Every morning I get a text that tells me what the weather is like and will be like for the day. I also use the Twitter favorites to Evernote recipe to save my favorites. Another Twitter one I use is every time I create a Bit.ly link (either in Twitter or outside of Twitter) it gets backed up to a Google Doc with the date and title of the link. I also back up my pictures shared on Instagram and Facebook to Dropbox and more. There are tons of uses that you can really do a lot with.

One of the best parts of IFTTT is the sharing. You can share your recipes you create with the world and use those created by others. The gallery there is a great place to start as newbie because the work is done for you. Then you can experiment with creating your own.

So be like me. Let the Internet do the heavy lifting for you and check out If This, Then That.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

This is the eighth post in my Summer Learning Series. These are short posts with tools, tips and resources for you to try something new this summer or something you can take to the classroom in the Fall. First was Collaborative Learning With Edmodo and then we followed up with Learning With Hashtags. Then we looked at TED Talks. We moved on to Twitter chats. Then our last post looked at some pretty neat things you can do with YouTube. Last week we took a look at Diigo and how to curate the information you are finding this summer. Then we examined the things to consider if you want to use Twitter in your classroom or your school in the coming school year. Today we look at a tool I can't live without, Evernote.

I'll admit it.

I have to be one of the most unorganized people on the planet. I have notebooks in just about every bag I carry. Multiple calendars and I still miss appointments. Slips of papers as reminders with some string of illegible thoughts on them, that, when I find them, I don't have a clue what I was thinking when I wrote them.

I have more than 10 different types of projects going on at anyone time. A book, book chapters for others, keynotes to write, presentations to prepare, consulting, product review, and on and on and on. Not to mention my projects with my district.

I had tried Evernote in the past. Installed it and looked at it and couldn't really find a use for it. I would uninstall it and go on my way, unorganized, missing appointments, stressing about putting things together. But that is all in the past. I use Evernote everyday. I can't live without it. So much so, its on every phone, computer and in every browser I come in contact with.

Ok, so what is it?

To boil it all down. Think of Evernote as this giant filing cabinet. In it you put all the different notes, clips, photos, scans, just about anything. You can organize these notes into notebooks. Really what you use it for is up to you.

Here is a small view of some of my current notebooks.

So I have notebooks for work, personal and other work I do. And I nest notebooks. I like keeping things separate. That has really helped with my organization. I also use the To-Do notebook as my list of upcoming and current projects and responsibilities.

I keep Evernote open on my computer at all times. I never know when I am going to need it or when it could come in handy. Inside one of my notebooks you will see all my notes.

In this notebook are notes for 3 presentations I did at a district technology conference. I plan out my slidedeck, resources, videos, everything, can go right in the note for that particular session and I have it no matter where I am. I can scan in items, add Word docs, exe files and loads more to a notebook or note. Did I practice a part of my preso that I wanted to save the audio for? No problem! I can even include audio as part of my notes. (That works even better on a smartphone.)

You can also install the Evernote Web Clipper extension and save portions of websites or just some text from a blog post that you want to use somewhere else. You can also connect Evernote to your Twitter favorites and whenever you save a favorite it goes into a notebook. (That is one of my favorite features.)

There are lots of uses in Education too. Here are some of my favorite resources:

Evernote 101- This video from my good friend Josh is a great starting point for folks who want to get started.

Evernote For Educators- This Livebinder is packed full of getting started links and ideas for using Evernote with students.

One idea for use is portfolios. Because of Evernotes ability to accept lots of different kinds of inputs (text, images, audio, files, PDF, etc) it makes it a perfect edition to the portfolio-based classroom. The same is true with teachers. If you are an administrator, think about it. Since notebooks can be shared, you could create a notebook for each teacher, share it with them, and use that as a place to gather evaluation materials throughout the year. Simple and elegant.

Evernote is 100% free. You can download it as many times as you want. There are versions for both Mac and PC and it works on your smartphone too. There are, however, monthly upload limits for things like images and PDFs. You can pay for Evernote Premium (which I do.) that gives you lots more space, the ability to search your PDFs, the sharing option and more. For $45 bucks a year, well worth it if you ask me.

Best thing to do now is go download it and start small. Use it for a project or two that you have going on. And I would bet in a month or 2 you will say, just like I do that I can't live without it!

Do you use Evernote? How do you use it? What are your favorite resources? Leave some comments below.

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In this book, geared towards School and District Leaders, you'll learn about some of the most popular web tools used in schools but through a leadership lens. Understand how to be a more effective communicator and collaborator and boost productivity, at the same time understanding the need for school and district leaders be models of effective technology use.

Written with my good friend Tom Whitby, the book not only lays out the simple tools educators can use to get connected but why it's important to use these tools for professional learning, engaging classrooms and more! Filled with our own stories it's an easy read for any educator!